Biography

​I was born in the state of Virginia (USA). When I was two years old, we moved to Louisiana, near the city of New Orleans. New Orleans is a world-famous city, best known for its Jazz music and delicious cajun and creole food. It's also known for Mardi Gras, an annual celebration with parades and parties that culminates on 'Fat Tuesday', the day before Lent.

Living in hot and humid Louisiana meant that I spent a lot of time on or near the water trying to cool off. On weekends, I'd be fishing and crabbing with my family or swimming at the local pool. My favorite subjects in school were creative writing and art. Outside of school, I danced (tap, ballet and jazz), performed in plays and was a member of a local high school 'drill team'. After graduating from high school, I decided to spread my wings and move far from home to attend Boston College (in Massachusetts).

Boston College was a terrific place. It was supportive and spirited, and I graduated with a dual degree (B.S.) in Marketing and Economics. I also had the privilege of co-founding the Golden EagleDance Team, a dance performance group that still exists today.

After graduation, I got my first job in advertising in New York City. From there, I moved to San Francisco (California) and ultimately to England. It was in England that I had the idea for my first books starring Secret Agent Jack Stalwart. My idea was to create a series of stories that chronicled the global adventures of a secret agent kid, who was a cross between Indiana Jones and James Bond (two of my favorite movie characters).

​I decided to call him 'Jack Stalwart' because I liked the name Jack, and 'Stalwart' meant 'dependable' and 'trustworthy', which is what I wanted him to be. ​For fun, I decided to publish the first five stories myself. After selling thousands of books, Random House Children's Books UK (now called Penguin Random House UK) acquired the series and commissioned another nine books (for a total of fourteen). Since then, millions of copies have sold and the Secret Agent Jack Stalwart series has been translated into multiple languages around the word. Over the years, I have been fortunate enough to meet some incredible children, parents, teachers, booksellers and fellow authors, while travelling to promote the series and telling children all about Jack's adventures.

Recently, I finished the first four books in a new sequel series featuring Secret Agents Jack and Max Stalwart, released a Secret Agent Training Manual book (that teaches kids how to write and decipher top secret spy messages), and published a middle grade story called Swamp Mysteries: The Treasure of Jean Lafitte. Swamp Mysteries is one of my personal favorites, asit chronicles the adventures of a group of twelve-year-old friends, as they solve paranormal, i.e. ghost (!), mysteries in and around the swamps of Louisiana. It's like a cross between Goosebumps and Scooby-Doo.

If you have a question about me, my work and/ or upcoming appearances, you can always send me a note via the Contact page. Or better yet, follow me on Twitter! ​